1.
National Board of Review
–
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908, the mayor believed that the new medium degraded the morals of community. Its stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new art of the people, in an effort to avoid government censorship of films, the National Board became the unofficial clearinghouse for new movies. From 1916 into the 1950s thousands of motion pictures carried the legend Passed by the National Board of Review in their main titles, however, the Board was a de facto censorship organization. Producers submitted their films to the Board before making release prints, they agreed to cut out any footage that the Board found objectionable, up to and including destroying the entire film. In 1930, the NBR was the first group to choose the ten best English-language movies of the year and the best foreign films, everson, Alistair Cooke, and Pearl Buck. In addition, the Awards Jury helps to determine the special achievement awards presented at the gala in January. The organization also works to foster commentary on all aspects of production by underwriting educational film programs. In 2016, the NBR reached out to the community to The Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, The Ghetto Film School, the organization also awarded grants to seventeen student filmmakers as part of its annual Student Grant Program. The boardss official magazine had existed in several forms and different names since its inception, in 1950 the magazine changed its name from Screen Magazine, and launched the first issue as Films in Review on February 1,1950. Note, Until 1945, there were awards for Best Picture and intermittent awards for Best Documentary. Motion Picture Production Code Official website